Dresden to Prague

At some point, I'm going to have to go back in time to write about Muhlberg to Dresden. I feel like I am meeting so many good people everyday that it saturates my thoughts and takes a little longer to process. Right now, I am writing after spending my first full day in Prague. 

 It rained everyday that I was in Dresden, though I think this is my favorite place thus far on tour. I wanted to really pause here for a little while longer.

 If it weren't for my proclamation that I was going to ride to Prague, I may have just stayed. It rained even more when I left on Sunday. Every time I leave a large city, it tends to take me longer to leave town than I'd like. I get sucked in. I always think of an errand that I could have run. I love the services and connectivity there. 

 My friend that I met at Yenidze gave me an extra rain jacket. I accepted, but I didn't think I would need it.

 It turns out it really helped with getting me started the first 20 kilometers. I'm not sure why things work out like that, but I'm thankful that they do. On this tour, somehow, it just seems like I'm given what I need sometimes. The trail was wet and muddy in certain places, and my bike is still gunked up from riding through long puddles and places where the paved trail would just disappear. It reminded me of riding on the C&O Trail between Cumberland and Washington, D.C. at times. 

Some of the mud was my fault. The Elbe River paved route would switch sides of the river, and I needed to pay more attention to the map to see where I needed to cross. Bridges aren't plentiful, but there are ferries from time to time. Oddly enough this was the first time that I had a paper map with me this whole trip. I think it really helped because my cell hasn't always been very reliable when I move away from cities. I biked through the sog and fog until I reached Sachsische Schweiz Nationalpark. Rocks were starting to emerge from the hills. 

I didn't hike up because it wasn't a very clear day. It's like when I went to the Grand Canyon and there was a cloud inside the canyon obscuring the view. I'll have to visit some other time. I got to talk to an older couple from the United Kingdom, and we talked about how unintelligible English is from the other continent. They said they had trouble understanding Richard Gere, and could barely watch anything American without subtitles. I told them that I had trouble understanding Ricky Gervais, and they seemed surprised. It would be fun to watch some television with them.

I biked a little farther to Konigstein. 

Even though I had energy to go farther, I saw on my handy paper map that this was the last campground before crossing over to the Czech Republic. I had had a hard time with getting to Denmark and then to Germany. It's silly, but I wanted to check over things with technology and write people before I was disconnected again. 

The campground was a little weird and their space for tents was right next to the reception building. As I was checking in, the guy working there had on a campground jacket, a clipboard, and was talking to other campers about things in German. He looked very official like he worked there. He was working from his bicycle outside. I gave him my passport, and as soon as I handed it to him, he rode away it. I couldn't find him for 5 minutes. He was in another office, and then left. I soon as I saw him, I yelled, "Mein pass-a-port bitte." He seemed annoyed but went into the office and fetched it for me. That was the first scare I'd had in a while. I didn't sleep very well. I did another long day on my bike the next day until Litomerice, Czech Republic. Before getting to the CZ, I ran into another cyclist who lived outside of Rostock who was doing the same trip. 

We rode together, and it did make everything a little easier. I didn't know that the CZ didn't use the Euro, so I had to get some Czech crowns to use. (Don't be like me.)  He also had good instincts about reading the signs, and I helped by spotting the signs that he would miss. It's comforting sometimes to have someone else with you when you enter a new country with a new language and new currency. I was comforted to see that a German person did not know one word of Czech. He was guilty of what some of us Americans do, though he was able to pick up on the words more quickly than me when he asked the server. The only Czech word I know is thank you, and it sounds like 'dickweed' to me. I feel odd saying it.

 I stayed at a campground at Litomerice and didn't really sleep well again. This campground had a bar that made the people there howl and laugh into the late hours of the night.

From Litomerice, I rode alone on my way to Prague. It was a scenic day with a little more pavement and sunshine from days previous. It felt like a long ride, but there were so many views from along the river and on the sides of mountains, which made it seem shorter. Here are some of the things I saw. 

 Honestly, I really struggled with finding the hostel. My cell died before I reached the hotel, though I did manage to write down the address. There was traffic congestion and no room for bicycles. I tried charging my phone at this mall restaurant with wall outlets and bought the horrible "light burrito" filled with what I presume was dog food and Chinese vegetables to warrant sitting there, but alas it was a dummy outlet. 

This is the first time I parked my bicycle and then hailed a taxi to get to the hostel that was not far away. It always works out in the end, but sometimes it's not as easy to reach the end as you think it should be. I also broke my cycling rule that I should always enter a large metropolitan area in the morning if at all possible so that I can be alert and awake for whatever may happen.

I have always held such romantic feelings for Prague, and yes, it's very beautiful, but it's different from what I imagined. It's like the alstadts I saw in Germany but bigger and more exaggerated with more ornate details. I took today to recalibrate and luxuriated in just being able to walk slowly down whichever street I chose. I sat on benches and by fountains and just let myself think.

 I'm not sure if I ever had a clear vision of the city in my mind, but the reality and dream of this place are mismatched for me. Even though I haven't explored the city fully, I haven't seen any sort of friendly way to ride bicycles in the city. Usually, I am fearless but cars zip by fast, curbs are high, and there isn't much room for bicycles. It kills the dream a little bit for me. I have met even more good people here though. The friendship train keeps growing.

Other things of note:

The guy who kept saying cheers from across the patio whenever I would raise my beer to drink.

The inline speed skaters who collided on the bike path, like a mentos commercial gone wrong. 

The mountain I climbed right before reaching Prague.

The first mention of Eurovelo Route 7 in anything on the trail.

Jüterbog to Mühlberg

Simone dropped me off at a place where there were signs that would lead me to the Elbe Radweg. I had not even heard of this bike path until Marcel and Simone explained it to me.

I quickly reached Wittenberg. I never dreamed that I would ever be in the city where the Reformation began--and here I was just passing through via the Elba Radweg.

The church was basically wrapped in plastic for renovations to restore it before the 500th anniversary of the event in 2017. But the door was left uncovered where he supposedly nailed his 95 theses.

A lot of the day after Wittenberg just was along the Elbe River.

Here is the lunch that sweet Simone packed me in the morning. She insisted I take this like any good German mother would.

It was a quiet day mostly. I love when I see Soviet monuments still standing in eastern Germany.

I rode as far as I thought I could and starting looking for a campground. It was difficult, but I was able to communicate with an old man who flagged me down before I even reached him. He told me how far away camping was in 2 directions. It was very broken language, but it worked. I found out that there was camping 4 kilometers away. I always have to remember to say kilometer kee-low-mee-er lest they don't understand me.

I reached Mühlberg and found a very small campground that was locked. I called the number on the sign, and a young man answered who spoke English decently. He ran over, unlocked everything, and zipped out in an utterly efficient but friendly way.

He said he'd be back to wash some dishes that were left over from a catered event at the campround that were left in the kitchen. I enjoyed getting to use the kitchen to charge my technology while making some noodles with some vegetables added in from their garden. As I was finishing in the kitchen, Chris came back, and I helped him with the dishes. It was the first time in what seemed like days that anyone could understand the words coming out of my mouth. I just rambled to him while scrubbing these huge catering dishes.

I actually slept soundly in my tent. It was quiet there and I was able to wake up early to get to Dresden the next day.

Potsdam to Jüterbog

Today, I was overwhelmed by the generosity of a married couple who lives in Jüterbog. I was standing at an intersection trying to figure out the bike radweg way signs, which happens too often here in Germany. In this instance, there were two signs labeled Jüterbog pointing in different directions. Two people stopped by to help me. One was a city worker who gave me a brochure with a map. Another was a man who was going to Jüterbog who owned a bicycle shop. Up until that point, I had had easy, long stretches of pavement from Caputh to outside of Jüterbog. Both men told me it would not be that way up the road, and that I should take the Elbe Radweg.

After talking for a bit in our broken but fluent way, I decided to follow Marcel to Jüterbog. It is such a relaxing thing to just follow someone instead of fighting through miles on your own. He told me all about "his woman" and his children who were grown. In German, they use the same word for wife and woman, frau. He told me they were going to celebrate their silver anniversary soon and that she had a bakery next to the shop. What a perfect combination for a bicycle tourist...it's the beginning of a bike tourist mall for someone like me. It was very clear that they were very much in love.

I bought a new light from him, and he examined my bike. He brought me over to the bakery where I had pizza, cake, and a large cappuchino on the house. 

We joked through the words we knew of each other's languages. As I finished eating, unbeknowst to me, Marcel checked with his wife Simone to see if I could stay the night, sleeping in his daughter's room. I decided to stay with them. I felt adopted in a way by them

 It was 3:00 pm and his shop closed at 6:00. Jüterbog is 1000 years old, and I wandered the city to kill time. 

This was another city with a Medieval wall left as ruins around it. It had a lot of charm and children were running around the town too.

I was really overwhelmed by their willingness to welcome into their home, even feeding me dinner and breakfast. They would not let me help with anything. We talked about American music, especially Elvis, and about German food. The best line I think was that chicken nuggets are schnitzel. Also, American potato salad is really German potato salad.

The next day, Simone packed me a little lunch left over from breakfast and both her and Marcel insisted on giving me a ride with my bike to signs that would lead me to the Elberadweg, which I reached in Wittenberg. They seemed much too kind. I only hope that I can return the favor.

Berlin to Potsdam

It has been about 2 weeks since my send off party at Nano Brew. It smells like fall in Deutschland, and the early leaves are falling and blowing around. Trees are giving up the green already.

This week, I need to start moving and need to make like a leaf and verschwinde already from northern Germany. I'd really like to be to Dresden by Thursday.

Potsdam was a real surprise. I've never been anywhere quite like this. I know Walt Disney must have came through here if he was visiting places like Tivoli in Copenhagen. 

I didn't taken enough pictures. I rode to a hostel that was closed, and then I had to ride to campground a ways away. I had a nice tour of the area by looking for a place. This evening, I had a chance to retrace my path.

They even had an obelisk.

I feel like I'm finding a groove a little bit. Everyday here feels a little bit more comfortable. I had more success with communicating today, which is comforting. I could do the following in German: ask for a postage stamp, ask if they sell stamps, ask for a campsite for a tent, and say have a good day. I'm understanding more conversational speak and I am starting to get numbers when people tell me the price. People don't switch over to English unless they work in the hospitality business.

I still don't know where I'm staying from night to night. My internet connection has been unreliable. I am learning to be at peace with almost anything. 

I'm starting to have my first pangs of homesickness.

Other notable things today included:

An Aldi with a boat dock where a man asked me to watch his boat while I was eating a croissant on the water.

Also, I was able to ride through the Berlin-Temphof Airfield that has been converted to public space for runners and bicyclists mostly. It's huge and people don't take up much space on it. Like most things in Berlin, that space is imbued with some heavy recent history. It kind of gets to me if I think too much about what's happened there.

This is the widest bike path ever.

Writing here has gotten easier too, but maybe the quality is decreasing. I know my English feels kaputt after swinging an ax at the German language all day.

Gute nacht, freunds. I head toward Dresden tomorrow morgen.

Fürstenberg to Berlin: Do-over

The days fly by so quickly here.

Today is the day that I can say I've truly biked from Copenhagen to Berlin. I rewound my trip back to Fürstenberg where I hopped on a train to meet my host a little earlier than later back on Friday night. I took the train there today and biked into Berlin this evening.

Every time I'm able to navigate and accomplish something mundane like getting on a train and making a transfer while speaking broken German, it feels like a minor victory.  There's the interpretation of signs and ticket machines (English). 

There were a bunch of other people heading to Fürstenberg too with bikes. They have a dedicated car for bikes-- you just have to buy a ticket for it and then you roll it on and lock it.

It turns out that I did the most challenging parts of Rostock to Berlin in the days previous, and Füstenberg to Berlin was mostly all pavement and enjoyable.

There was some more forest.

And there was some corn. If you want to imagine you're in Europe cycling, just cycle to your nearest cornfield to achieve this true European experience.

I really liked the little town of Gransee.

It had 13th century architecture. I saw this church from miles away. They slowly built it up over hundreds of years. It's clear how powerful the church was then through these buildings.

Some of the Berlin-Copenhagen Radweg followed rivers.

I liked this little Polish tugboat.

With the new power bank for my cell, I felt more comfortable taking more pictures. More importantly, it actually worked and is easy to incorporate into my routine. I can charge my phone through the battery that is in turn plugged into the wall. C'est parfait. It has eliminated a lot of anxiety.

I feel like I'm getting the hang of things right now. I feel a little better about German too. I feel like signs and advertisements are starting to make sense. I like that part of immersion. Today, I also had interactions where I understood little bits of polite banter. Usually I just speak at someone, and they reply in jibberish, and I watch closely to see if they understood me. I feel like I'm less of a jerk now, though not by much.

Also, I'm figuring out that 100 kilometers is probably my max per day by bicycle. I stop constantly for pictures, and it takes me longer to process my surroundings in another language. I probably have another week in Germany before I enter the Czech Republic with the third unfamiliar language of this trip. Not everyone speaks English; that's a myth.

This is the part of the trip where I have to start charting my own route. Potsdam, Dresden, and Prague are coming up. I'd really like to go to Krakow too.

I am having a lot of fun. Things were just funny to me today.

There was the 'barf-up-food' currywurst.

This hotdog saved me at just the right time.

There was the bar that could definitely expand to Cleveland. I forget that Lebron James is someone people might now here when they ask me Woher kommen sie? They often don't know Cleveland or Ohio. At this range, you're an American, though noone has guessed yet. I'm always asked if I'm from the United Kingdom.

And then you can get a coffee from Star Back. I've seen a few of these...it's awfully close in name to...

I found an apartment that wasn't afraid to have their German pride mistaken for nationalism. It is rare to see German flags waving in the air here. This is an anomaly.

Finally, for some reason, there are all these young trees that are protected by wooden cages. It seems a bit ironic. There are thousands of these here.

In Berlin, I've seen a few more amazing things too.

I could hang around here for weeks, but it's time to see what's around the corner.